Pen Pals on Missions
I like writing letters. I also like getting letters. It's a toss up as to which I like more. I like choosing a pen (preferably black roller ball gel ink pens medium point) and good stationery (very hard to find so I use a composition tablet these days) I like sitting down with a cup of tea and writing to someone. I also like opening the mailbox and seeing familiar handwriting. It's almost like Christmas for me.
With email,texting and social networking websites few people write letters anymore. That's very sad. Writing a letter is more than just putting information on paper, it's a way of letting someone know that they mean enough to you to actually take time to write. Letter writing is a dying art which is unfortunate as a lot of history has been chronicled via letters.
I have had several pen pals over the years. Eventually we lose track of each other or something else happens and the letters stop coming. My last pen pal was my stepdaughter Elin. She no longer has time to write and prefers to text or send messages via Facebook. I was pretty sad when she quit writing. No more letters in my mailbox. I hoped and even prayed a little that I would find a new pen pal.
Be careful what you pray for. You might just get it.
We have had LDS missionaries visiting our house for a bit over a year now. (C is a member.) They would come over every Sunday night to practice lessons, share Scripture or just visit. I have always liked the missionaries, young men and women who spend 18 to 24 months assigned to various places all over the world. They spend their time teaching people seeking information about the Church, doing service and helping out in the ward they are assigned to. Every six weeks or so they are transferred to another place in the area.
Elder Zie (when they on their missions they are addressed as 'Elder' or 'Sister' depending on gender) and his companion had spent many evenings at our house. He had helped to decorate our Christmas tree. They had eaten at our house and I brought them soup when he and his companion came down with a virus. When he was transferred I asked if he could receive letters. He said yes and gave me a central adress so my letters would reach him wherever he was. I sent a letter thanking him for his lessons and help and wishing him well in his new ward. He wrote back, I wrote back. It looked like I might have a new pen pal.
Elder Peterson is another missionary who came to visit often. He is tall with dark hair and very smart. (Actually they are all pretty intelligent.) I enjoyed talking to him and he taught me more than a few things about the church in some interesting ways. When he stopped by to tell me he had been transferred, I asked if he minded me writing to him. He said that he would like that. I wrote the weekend after his transfer so there would be a letter for him soon after he got to his new ward. He wrote back, I answered. I was beginning to sense a pattern.
Elder Smith had just come out on his mission when he arrived in our ward. He is very tall and large. He is from Idaho and had worked in a potato factory sacking potatoes earning money to go on a mission. He is very quiet and spoke only when he had something to say. I enjoyed his visits and lessons too. The Sunday before transfers were due to be announced I decided to be bold. I asked him if he would like a pen pal. He said yes. Yay!
All three of them write to me on a regular basis. I told them all my one rule. If I write two letters to them and do not get a reply I will stop writing until I get one. It's a fair rule. Writing to someone who doesn't answer is like talking to yourself, only more work.
Every Thursday I make sure to check the mailbox to see if I've got a letter. (Mondays are the days that they are allowed to do personal chore likes shopping and laundry.) Elder Zie was transferred to Thunder Bay,Canada and would tell me about the weather, the people and how much he liked it there. Elder Peterson wrote about the multicultural ward he found himself in. Elder Smith had nothing new to report except that his birthday was coming up. (I got a card and sent it.) I write back and talk to them about what's going on and other things. It's a lot of fun.
I'm not sure if I'll hear from any of them again once they are finished with their mission and at home. That's all right. There will be others to write. I mentioned to Elder Carter who is in our ward right now that I write to some of his predecessors. He liked that and said that he had just started his mission and would need lots of letters.
You'll get them Elder, just be sure to write back.
With email,texting and social networking websites few people write letters anymore. That's very sad. Writing a letter is more than just putting information on paper, it's a way of letting someone know that they mean enough to you to actually take time to write. Letter writing is a dying art which is unfortunate as a lot of history has been chronicled via letters.
I have had several pen pals over the years. Eventually we lose track of each other or something else happens and the letters stop coming. My last pen pal was my stepdaughter Elin. She no longer has time to write and prefers to text or send messages via Facebook. I was pretty sad when she quit writing. No more letters in my mailbox. I hoped and even prayed a little that I would find a new pen pal.
Be careful what you pray for. You might just get it.
We have had LDS missionaries visiting our house for a bit over a year now. (C is a member.) They would come over every Sunday night to practice lessons, share Scripture or just visit. I have always liked the missionaries, young men and women who spend 18 to 24 months assigned to various places all over the world. They spend their time teaching people seeking information about the Church, doing service and helping out in the ward they are assigned to. Every six weeks or so they are transferred to another place in the area.
Elder Zie (when they on their missions they are addressed as 'Elder' or 'Sister' depending on gender) and his companion had spent many evenings at our house. He had helped to decorate our Christmas tree. They had eaten at our house and I brought them soup when he and his companion came down with a virus. When he was transferred I asked if he could receive letters. He said yes and gave me a central adress so my letters would reach him wherever he was. I sent a letter thanking him for his lessons and help and wishing him well in his new ward. He wrote back, I wrote back. It looked like I might have a new pen pal.
Elder Peterson is another missionary who came to visit often. He is tall with dark hair and very smart. (Actually they are all pretty intelligent.) I enjoyed talking to him and he taught me more than a few things about the church in some interesting ways. When he stopped by to tell me he had been transferred, I asked if he minded me writing to him. He said that he would like that. I wrote the weekend after his transfer so there would be a letter for him soon after he got to his new ward. He wrote back, I answered. I was beginning to sense a pattern.
Elder Smith had just come out on his mission when he arrived in our ward. He is very tall and large. He is from Idaho and had worked in a potato factory sacking potatoes earning money to go on a mission. He is very quiet and spoke only when he had something to say. I enjoyed his visits and lessons too. The Sunday before transfers were due to be announced I decided to be bold. I asked him if he would like a pen pal. He said yes. Yay!
All three of them write to me on a regular basis. I told them all my one rule. If I write two letters to them and do not get a reply I will stop writing until I get one. It's a fair rule. Writing to someone who doesn't answer is like talking to yourself, only more work.
Every Thursday I make sure to check the mailbox to see if I've got a letter. (Mondays are the days that they are allowed to do personal chore likes shopping and laundry.) Elder Zie was transferred to Thunder Bay,Canada and would tell me about the weather, the people and how much he liked it there. Elder Peterson wrote about the multicultural ward he found himself in. Elder Smith had nothing new to report except that his birthday was coming up. (I got a card and sent it.) I write back and talk to them about what's going on and other things. It's a lot of fun.
I'm not sure if I'll hear from any of them again once they are finished with their mission and at home. That's all right. There will be others to write. I mentioned to Elder Carter who is in our ward right now that I write to some of his predecessors. He liked that and said that he had just started his mission and would need lots of letters.
You'll get them Elder, just be sure to write back.
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